Local fresh berries make an Aussie fruit cider

Berries are in the blood at Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm in rural Victoria – but the success of the latest venture on the farm is proving even more fruitful than they could have predicted.

Matt Gallace has worked his grandfather’s land at Mornington Peninsula since primary school days; and so it came as no surprise he choose to follow in his footsteps – the third generation to do so.

Taking traditional winemaking and agriculture skills his Italian grandfather handed down through generations, Matt, along with wife Ruth and senior winemaker/brewer Wayne Hewett, decided to use an innovative blending approach to try their hand at fruit wine, launching Rebello Wines.

The wine was an immediate success, taking out a string of accolades, including its Strawbellini being the only Australian sparkling to be awarded a double gold medal at the San Francisco International Wine Competition along with international brands France's Veuve and Sonma Coast's Piper.

Matt says it was “a natural evolution of the business to then try their hand at cider”.

But in true Gallace style, it wasn’t to be just any cider.

Under the Rebello umbrella, ‘Cheeky Rascal Cider’ was born - Australia’s first 100% pure fruit cider blend - revolutionising cider in this country.

“We decided to use the fresh local berries at the farm, combined with apples and pears from other parts of Victoria, and without using concentrate, flavourings, colours or additives just make a real premium quality Aussie fruit blended cider which everyone can enjoy.”

They hadn’t even bottled their first batch before they’d sold out.

Demand for the product meant a trial run of 1,000 litres just 12 months ago turned into the pair purchasing enough tanks to produce rolling 45,000 litre batches - an 880% growth to date.